Loading... Please wait...

Popular Brands

Our Newsletter


FAQ - Cancer

1. What is thyroid cancer?
Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. Cancer can also occur in the thyroid after spread from other locations, in which case it is not classified as thyroid cancer.
 
Risk factors include radiation exposure at a young age, having an enlarged thyroid, and family history. The four main types are papillary thyroid cancer, follicular thyroid cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, and anaplastic thyroid cancer. Diagnosis is often based on ultrasound and fine needle aspiration. 
 
2, What is the treatment?
Treatment options may include surgery, radiation therapy including radioactive iodine, chemotherapy, thyroid hormone, targeted therapy, and watchful waiting.[1] Surgery may involve removing part or all of the thyroid. Five-year survival rates are 98% in the United States.
 
Globally as of 2015, 3.2 million people have thyroid cancer. In 2012, 298,000 new cases occurred. It most commonly occurs between the ages of 35 and 65. Women are affected more often than men.[4] Those of Asian descent are more commonly affected. Rates have increased in the last few decades, which is believed to be due to better detection.


3. What is signs and symptoms of thyroid cancer?
Most often, the first symptom of thyroid cancer is a nodule in the thyroid region of the neck. However, up to 65% of adults have small nodules in their thyroids, but typically under 10% of these nodules are found to be cancerous. Sometimes, the first sign is an enlarged lymph node. Later symptoms that can be present are pain in the anterior region of the neck and changes in voice due to an involvement of the recurrent laryngeal nerve.
 
Thyroid cancer is usually found in a euthyroid patient, but symptoms of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism may be associated with a large or metastatic, well-differentiated tumor.
Thyroid nodules are of particular concern when they are found in those under the age of 20. The presentation of benign nodules at this age is less likely, thus the potential for malignancy is far greater.


4. How to diagnosis thyroid cancer?
After a thyroid nodule is found during a physical examination, a referral to an endocrinologist or a thyroidologist may occur. Most commonly, an ultrasound is performed to confirm the presence of a nodule and assess the status of the whole gland. Measurement of thyroid stimulating hormone and antithyroid antibodies will help decide if a functional thyroid disease such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis is present, a known cause of a benign nodular goiter. 
Measurement of calcitonin is necessary to exclude the presence of medullary thyroid cancer. Finally, to achieve a definitive diagnosis before deciding on treatment, a fine needle aspiration cytology test is usually performed and reported according to the Bethesda system.


5. What is the classification?
Thyroid cancers can be classified according to their histopathological characteristics. These variants can be distinguished (distribution over various subtypes may show regional variation):
 
Papillary thyroid cancer (75 to 85% of cases) – often in young females – excellent prognosis. May occur in women with familial adenomatous polyposis and in patients with Cowden syndrome.Newly reclassified variant: noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features is considered an indolent tumor of limited biologic potential.
 
Follicular thyroid cancer (10 to 20% of cases) – occasionally seen in people with Cowden syndrome. Some include Hürthle cell carcinoma as a variant and others list it as a separate type.
 
Medullary thyroid cancer (5 to 8% of cases) – cancer of the parafollicular cells, often part of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2.
 
Poorly differentiated thyroid cancerAnaplastic thyroid cancer (less than 5% of cases) is not responsive to treatment and can cause pressure symptoms.
 
OthersThyroid lymphomaSquamous cell thyroid carcinomaSarcoma of thyroidHürthle cell carcinomaThe follicular and papillary types together can be classified as "differentiated thyroid cancer". These types have a more favorable prognosis than the medullary and undifferentiated types.
 
Papillary microcarcinoma is a subset of papillary thyroid cancer defined as measuring less than or equal to 1 cm. 43% of all thyroid cancers and 50% of new cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma are papillary microcarcinoma.
Management strategies for incidental papillary microcarcinoma on ultrasound (and confirmed on FNAB) range from total thyroidectomy with radioactive iodine ablation to observation alone. Harach et al. suggest using the term "occult papillary tumor" to avoid giving patients distress over having cancer. Woolner et al. first arbitrarily coined the term "occult papillary carcinoma", in 1960, to describe papillary carcinomas ≤ 1.5 cm in diameter.